Insurance Tactics to "Force" Settlement? Inflict a Little More Pain.

Take this with a grain of salt - salt in the wound, that is. In viewing a video presentation for the Wisconsin State Bar Continuing Legal Education Seminars addressing handling personal injury lawsuits in Wisconsin, I noted this gem by panel expert insurance defense attorney Ron Pezze, Jr.: while discussing insurers' lack of preparation for Court ordered mediations, Pezze stated "they think, well, we'll have enough time to talk about it when they're TWISTING THE ARM OF THE PLAINTIFF ..."

So, that's the way they are thinking about you and your injury claim. Nice thought, inflicting more pain on the victim who is attempting to attain a fair recovery for their injuries.

Of course, this is but a turn of phrase, if you will, but it belies the mentality and intent of the tactics employed by insurers in dealing with injury palintiffs. It's not about you, your injuries and your sufferring - its about oppressing you to save the insurance company's dollars.

The plaintiff's bar has long been stigmatized and denigrated as "ambulance chasers" and "vultures" by those morally superior silk stockings defense firms. I guess I just don't agree that harming the victim is a higher-ground approach.

So, in case you are still wondering if they intend to play fair with you and your injury claim, don't count on it.

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Auto Insurance Discount Available With Training Course

I am reasonably sure that there is bigger news in the PA insurance world, but I just wanted to post this photo.

In any event, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has approved a 4-hour Mature Driver Improvement Refresher Course to allow drivers age 55 and older the opportunity to continue to qualify for discounted vehicle insurance. The refresher course will be offered to individuals who have completed the PennDOT-approved, 8-hour Mature Driver Improvement Basic Course within the last three years. Currently, individuals are required to complete this course every three years to continue to qualify for discounted vehicle insurance. You can read all about it.

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Hard Times and Health Insurance: Staying Covered When You Lose Your Job

In response to the growing number of New Yorkers who risk losing health insurance coverage in the current troubled economy, United Hospital Fund has created a guide to help New Yorkers understand how to benefit from the newly enacted COBRA premium assistance. It presents practical advice on state and federal protections, and how to exercise them. To read Hard Times and Health Insurance or look at our documents in the sidebar of the blog.

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Thanks for the health insurance - suckers

President Obama said last night "It's not about me, I have the best health care in the world." So do those bought and paid for lawmakers on Capitol Hill. I checked out a government site for federal employees to see what is on offer.


The U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Ensuring the Federal Government has an affective civilian workforce


Health
Federal employees, retirees and survivors can choose coverage from the widest selection of health plans in the country.

Dental
Eligible employees and annuitants can choose among 4 nationwide and 3 regional dental plans. Nationwide plans also offer international coverage.

Vision
Eligible employees and annuitants can choose among 3 nationwide vision plans. Nationwide plans also offer international coverage.

Life
We offer the largest group life insurance program in the world, covering employees, retirees and family members.

Flexible Spending Accounts
Eligible employees can choose to enroll in up to three different flexible spending accounts during Open Season.

Long Term Care
Most Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees and annuitants, active and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives are eligible to apply for insurance coverage under the FLTCIP.


This is not free health insurance, our politicians have to buy the plan that suits their needs. But the plans are subsidized by taxpayers, just like their pension plan. The average salary of a rank and file member of the House is about $174,000 per year, paid by taxpayers. They do alright off the public dime.

I do not deny them their benefits or their six figure salaries, but it comes with responsibilities to us and the country, not the lobbyists.

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Why should health insurance be a racket?

Why should health insurance be for profit? It hadn't used to be, but as with most things, the money hungry "lets see how much we screw the people for, before they make it illegal" men in suits got their grubby hands on it.

Accident and disability insurance goes back a few hundred years, but the first health insurance plan I could track down, was started by Baylor Hospital, in Dallas Texas, in the 1920s. It began as a nonprofit for poor folks called "The Blues" it eventually morphed into Blue Cross.

During WWII, the government froze all wages for the duration, and to get around this freeze on pay, companies started to offer Health Insurance as a benefit to give people more than they were legally allowed. The concept was still nonprofit. It didn't cost an arm or a leg to fix your arm or a leg.

By the early 1980s, 10% of health insurance companies were for profit, from then onto today it has become a scam of mighty proportions, matched and aided by the bandits from Wall Street.

They pay their CEO millions of dollars, they deny coverage, underpay doctors, get successfully sued, often. The lines are so blurred that one must conclude that health insurance is a racket of highest order, profit or nonprofit. Major surgery is needed.

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Health Insurance Alternative for Artists

The AP has a story that I hope gets the attention of health care institutions around the country. A bartering system has been created by Health Care Administration in Brooklyn whereby artists can trade service for health care:

Health Care Administration is just one aspect of the hospital's effort to promote a plan that provides care on a sliding scale to working people who don't have health insurance but make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid or other government programs.

Artists who sign up for the plan can pay out of pocket based on their income or offer their services.

For every hour an artist volunteers, the hospital puts 40 credits — the equivalent of $40 — into a health care account to be used for medical expenses.

About 150 people have signed up for the plan through a special hot line set up for artists and performers, and roughly 40 have expressed interest in the exchange part of the program.

A cursory search did not turn up that special hot line, but the center's general number is (718) 963-8000.

One of the most frequent reasons I hear from artists who wish they could, but don't, quit their day jobs is they need the health insurance. Until we get a President or Congress that cares about the career-crippling costs of insurance for artists, it's good to know bartering alternatives like this exist. If you know of any other such set-ups, please share. Woodhull medical Director Dr. Edward Fiskin explained that they were motivated to create this program for artists "because they're our neighbors." Here's to good neighbors!

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Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance provides the happysolution to the delicate matter of un unhappy death. In sickness and in health, we care and provide for our families. And at the end of that time, a whole life insurance policy can help you to continue to provide for them after you’re gone.

But whole life provides for your family in a very unique way…because with whole life, your premium payments become more than just a payment. They accrue and become a cash value account. And with this you can provide for yourself and your family.

How Do Whole Life Insurance Policies Work

Whole life insurance is a permanent life insurance…meaning it lasts your entire life. In most cases, the premium amount does not change, and the death benefits stay the same. Even if you have serious health problems. While it costs more than term life insurance, it’s still the most popular kind of individual life insurance in America today.

When you sign for a whole life insurance policy, you agree upon the premium payment, and how much of that payment will contribute to the cash value of the policy. As you get older, the premiums stay the same or increase according to what you agreed regardless of your age or health conditions. The cash value of a whole life insurance policy continues to grow. And all this time, your death benefit (the amount they’ll pay your beneficiary at the time of your demise) stays the same.

What Can I do with the Cash Values of a Whole Life Insurance Policy

The cash value of a whole life insurance policy is there for as long as the policy is in effect. You can withdraw the money and use it for anything. But withdrawing the cash decreases the death benefit.

The best way to use the cash value is to borrow against it. You can use this money for anything from paying off other loans to education funds. Borrowing the money also allows you to continue deferring taxes on the cash value (it’s taxable when you withdraw it.)

How Long Do I Pay the Premiums on a Whole Life Insurance Policy

On most policies, you continue to pay the premiums on a whole life insurance policy for as long as you live. Companies also offer the option to pay a lump sum in the beginning (creating an immediate cash value to the policy) and then make smaller premium payments throughout your life. You can also choose to pay a larger lump sum, without paying any premiums at all. Whole life insurance with modified premiums is a policy where the premiums incrementally increase as you grow older.

With any whole life insurance policy, everything is clearly defined when you purchase the policy. This includes the premium amounts, death benefits, and the amount of premium that contributes to the cash value.

Whole life insurance is about setting and meeting financial goals. When people depend on your financial decisions, whole life makes sense.

Talk to your Insurance Agent to ensure Whole Life Insurance is right for you!

More Whole Life Insurance Articles:

Whole Life Insurance is still a Preferred Choice

For a long time in America, whole life insurance was what most people bought. Lately, insurance companies have been offering other insurance at lower rates, but in most cases, whole life insurance is still the most beneficial of all plans.

Whole Life Insurance Explanation

A whole life insurance explanation should be required reading for anyone about to purchase life insurance. Whole life, in my humble opinion, has in recent years got a bad rap. People tend to buy term life insurance because it is cheaper...

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